Hospital and Dr Ratings

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K

kevin21

I see a lot of "he's the #2 surgon in the Country" or hospital. How do you know this and is there a rating scale? If not can I patent and/ or trademark one and then get imput from you fine folks. LOL!!!

Seriously, is there a place to find ratings. I am in the Houston area, and many people have told me where to go and who is good but I generally lose track of the info and have to start over again.

If there is no specific place, can anyone recomend a surgon / hospital that is good in the Houston area? (I think we have a pretty good selection of above average to great ones here, I could be wrong though).

If it seems like I only take, don't worry after and before D-day I will provide plenty of info and humor. :p :) :D
 
Ratings in the US are a screwy thing because it really depends on what those ratings are based on, what statistics they use.

The ONLY federally mandated statistic that is reported by hospitals that kind of sort of but not really relates to this are mortality rates.

"Ok, so my surgeon hasn't killed anyone recently, but he hasn't made anyone feel better either...."


I decided to take a look at what US News and World Report had to say before continuing...

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/hosptl/rankings/specihqcard.htm

Be wary of how they are reported. The only real "statistic" is mortality rate, everything else is based on opinions of survey respondents, nurses per bed ratio, available facilities and technology...


Most mortality statistics apply to deaths WITHIN the hospital, whether it's during surgery, before or after. you don't know what caused that death, you don't know if they died a day after release. You also don't know what service the death is reported under. Maybe the valve replacement was a raging success, but the patient died of an annurysm (did I spell that right?) two days after surgery, was that annurysm related to surgery or something entirely different?


Your best bet is to ask around. The top five on that list are probably just that, the best places to go. Some places, like Cleveland Clinic, are the BEST place to be for children with congenital heart defects. They're also really good when it comes to pediatric and adult transplants, especially hearts.

Pediatric cardiology and heart surgery are a very specialized field and not too many places can pull it off successfully. More hospitals claim they can, but if you really watch their cases, they can't. That's what I know best really since I have a CHD.


There are enough people in here from all over the country (and the world) that have experience in all the major heart centers that you shouldn't have any trouble finding the best place for you. =)
 
There is at least one other site that gives ratings and it appeared in one of our older posts - Its time to call the Wizard of Archives - Nancy, can you help here ?
 
Kevin:

Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's in Houston is an excellent hospital. That's where Dr. Cooley is at. Don't know that Cooley is still doing surgery -- he's somewhere in his 80s -- but THI has an excellent reputation -- teaching hospital, lots of research, all that.
Because I wanted to stay in the TX for my MVR, my choices were Baylor Dallas first, then THI/St. Luke's next.
A friend who lives in Tomball had MVR surgery there 12/02. She got a bovine valve, is on Coumadin because of a-fib.

If you're wanting to stay at home, check out THI/St. Luke's. I can get the name of my friend's cardio and surgeon and PM it to you if you'd like.
 
Two sites that are touted the most for finding good medical care are:

http://www.healthgrades.com/

http://www.bestdoctors.com/en/default.htm

But honestly, I don't know how their statistics are are gathered. The information may be self-generated or proprietary. People often say that there are three kinds of lies:

Lies
Damned Lies and
Statistics

You could use these sites for what they're worth, but for the very best info. you should do your own research in addition to that. Ask your cardiologist and PCP, ask your neighbors if they know of anyone who has had heart surgery, then follow that through. Ask any nurses you know, ask your dentist. Ask your pharmacist. Call Mended Hearts and schmooz at one of their meetings. They may not want to recommend a surgeon, but ask some of their members who did their surgery, and ask how it went. Ask what hospital they went to and if they were treated well. Look at their body language while they're telling you about it. Ask what the surgery and recovery involves, to get some additional info. Just do your best to gather the seen and unseen information from everyone you speak with.

That's what Joe did. He stayed close to home and had an excellent surgeon, Dr. Harry DePan who has done 3 surgeries on him, one lung and two heart. It was 20 minutes from home and couldn't have been easier. He had great care at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, NY.
 
Top Hospitals for cardiac serivices in Texas.

Top Hospitals for cardiac serivices in Texas.

Hey Kevin,

You might find this one interesting, you being a Texan. I came across an article about the "Texas Business Group on Health" in an AARP magazine. NOT MINE!! :eek: I'm to young to even be reading that magazine!! :D

tbgh.org/checkup Really, check it out. It lists the number of procedures each hospital has performed, average number of days a patient stays in the hospital, average cost per day, etc.
 
Rain has a good idea.

Also, your insurance company website may give you information. Granted, it may be 2 years old.
I was able to look up stats at www.myuhc.com, United HealthCare's website. Only gives stats on hospitals in network, but I was able to look at hospitals within 100 miles, 200, etc. going out to nationwide. Factors given included # of procedures, mortality rate, average length of stay, cost, etc. Then you can rate how important the criteria are to you.

Also, go to a bookstore and see if you can find Cleveland Clinic Heart Book there. There's some pretty good stuff in that book. Worth buying it new or used. You might check amazon.com.
 
Since I also live in Houston, I always said that I would go to the Texas Heart Institute for my surgery. After all, people come from all over the world to have surgery there. When I spent my month at Texas Children's with Rheumatic Fever, I was one of the few patients who spoke English as their primary language! I met Dr. Cooley at that time and was actually a subject for Grand Rounds for a group of "his" medical students where I got to sit in front of them all and answer questions. However, when it came time for my surgery, I consulted with my Cardiologist, my former Pediatric Cardiologist at Texas Children's, and others and decided to have my surgery performed by Don Gibson at Memorial Hospital Memorial City. He trained in the Medical Center and has excellent statistics. This hospital was much more convenient for my family. It's hard to compare doctors and hospitals based on mortality rates because some serve a much higher risk population. My suggestion is if you trust your cardiologist, ask his opinion. I wouldn't go to a very small hospital because they might not be equipped for emergency situations, but it's not necessary to go to the largest hospital either, and I certainly wouldn't leave Houston. There must be a reason that Drs. Cooley and DeBakey have been here for so long!
 
<< It's hard to compare doctors and hospitals based on mortality rates because some serve a much higher risk population. >>

While I was waiting for my surgery date, I looked at www.healthgrades to compare rates for mitral valve surgery at UCSF (University of California in San Francisco) and Summit Hospital in Oakland.

Was a little surprised to note that Summit actually had better stats than UCSF, which has such a great reputation as well as a top valve guy (Scott Merrick). My surgeon at Summit, who used to be at UCSF, indirectly gave me the answer. He mentioned that he'd seen a lot of mitral valve surgeries while at UCSF -- many of them on Latino patients sent to UCSF from San Francisco General. This is, by and large, an at-risk population -- poor, immigrant, many with untreated rheumatic fever as children or other untreated medical problems -- for whom I think you should expect a higher mortality rate.
 
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